


a bumpy road

by lifeinabeautifullight



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, gertrude - Freeform, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27252787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifeinabeautifullight/pseuds/lifeinabeautifullight
Summary: 'Also about road trips...i get car sick. You should know that.'Based on the little tidbit of information we got from the 2x19 script about Maggie getting carsick, here is a fic featuring Maggie feeling sick while in a car!
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer
Comments: 35
Kudos: 145





	a bumpy road

Long drives had a tendency to not agree with her but, bless her heart, her wife never complained when they made the trip through to visit Eliza.

Fortunately, Alex hadn’t discovered Maggie’s carsickness the hard way. In fact, the revelation had come the sweetest way, mere moments after they first exchanged  _ I love yous _ in the DEO medbay all those years ago. Yes, really. The topic of car sickness had come up during that beautiful moment, as they looked ahead to a future together. Life had happened, and their future hadn’t been plain sailing like they would’ve wished but it was what it was, and it had only made them stronger, closer, and more grateful for every moment they shared.

_ Speaking of plain sailing, that cruise still hadn’t happened… _

If anyone had heard that conversation in the medbay, they might’ve thought it was a weird thing to talk about during such a moment, the biggest moment in their relationship back then. Yet it wasn’t. It was just...them. They were a real couple, a real couple whose very relationship proved life wasn’t all ‘perfect’ moments. Perfectly imperfect, that was what they were and it worked.

Coming up close to four years of marriage, their lives were more hectic than ever. Detective Sawyer had become Captain Sawyer, while Alex had hung up the vigilante hood to focus on various research projects at the Tower. Opportunities to escape the city were rare and they cherished every one they had, even if Maggie’s stomach didn’t agree with them.

‘We can turn back, babe.’

‘We’re halfway there, it’s alright.’

Alex didn’t have the heart to tell Maggie that they weren’t even that far. Over the years, they’d devised a bunch of ways to try and get around this whenever it reared its head - open windows; podcasts as opposed to music to focus on; ginger tea...all that sorta stuff and, typically, it seemed to help. Not today. Nothing seemed to be helping as they sat at the edge of the road, after pulling over for the second time. Alex rubbed her wife’s back as they waited for things to subside. ‘You want some water?’

‘There’s none left.’

Looking over her shoulder into the car, Alex swiftly moved to grab the half empty bottle in the driver’s door. ‘Here. Take mine.’

‘Alex…’

‘There’s a truck stop a few miles away. We’ll stop there, have a little break and carry on. And that’s what we’ll do if it helps. Drive then stop and repeat. How does that sound?’

Taking a sip of water, Maggie nodded. ‘Good...that sounds...good.’

So that’s what they did. Drove then stopped. Then drove and stopped again, getting lucky that this next rest stop had a cute little nature trail. 

Opening the back door, Alex chuckled as Gertrude shot out to chase some birds. ‘Easy girl.’

They knew they needn’t worry. Their German Shepherd was a gentle giant, always merely wanting to make friends with wildlife and never quite understanding why said wildlife would always baulk - except the neighbour’s cat, Gerty hated that bitch.

_ Gertrude _ .

That name had been another thing they’d discussed back then, first in that goddamn tank and then in the medbay. It was the first name Alex could think of and a desperate attempt to try and use the completely random name to try to lighten an incredibly dire mood...yet Maggie had seemed to actually like it. ‘It’s versatile,’ she had explained, and it was. Rarely did they call their pup by her Sunday name, preferring  _ Gerty _ .

Gerty had been a welcome addition to their lives. She loved cuddles and sticks and especially loved playing with those sticks - as evidenced by her quickly finding one and dropping it at their feet.

Alex did the honors. ‘Go get it.’

Leaves flew beneath her paws as she took off.

Grimacing, Alex noticed there was a lot more than just fall foliage on the ground and hoped to god the blanket that covered the backseat would enough to take all that mud. ‘I hope there’s no water around here.’

Maggie hummed. ‘It’s nice though.’

‘It is,’ Alex agreed. They drove the same route every time they went to Midvale, and she was surprised this place had escaped their attention for so long. ‘Maybe we should make this a regular stop.’

‘Definitely.’

A returning Gerty deposited the stick once more.

This time Maggie reached for it, throwing it before the expression on her face suddenly changed. ‘Oh.’

‘Again?’

She nodded.

Alex guided her over to some bushes. ‘Easy, easy.’

‘I hate this.’

Alex hated it too. The car sickness thing was something they would joke about but this wasn’t amusing. This was starting to worry her. ‘Did you eat something funky?’

‘Not that I know of.’

‘What about that hot dog truck near your precinct?’

‘Gross, I would never.’

Alex raised a brow.

‘Once,’ Maggie admitted. ‘I went there once, months ago. And it wasn’t  _ that _ bad.’

Debatable - it was one of the few food trucks that Kara Danvers avoided at all costs, and that spoke volumes. ‘Okay, so not the truck. What have you had to eat?’

‘Nothing out of the ordinary.’ 

Then it dawned on Alex. ‘My paella.’

‘Alex.’

Always an average cook at best, over the years she’d tried more and more to improve her skills in the kitchen, while also giving Maggie - or their local takeout - a reprieve from the duties. They had paella last night, something she’d always found herself to be hit or miss at. Sometimes it was perfect, other times it wasn’t or it was accidentally burned. And, honestly, she hadn’t been impressed with her efforts, there had been something off about it. ‘Shit, it must’ve been that--.’

‘Babe,’ Maggie said more firmly this time.

‘Oh god, I knew it wasn’t right I--.’

Maggie cut to it. ‘I think I’m pregnant.’

That shut Alex up. ‘I…’ They’d been trying for over a year with little success and a lot of bills. The amount spent was unimportant, they couldn’t give a shit about that. They just wanted to start a family and, fearing that it wasn’t meant to be this way, had started to look into other avenues. Adoption. That was something they’d always wanted to pursue but knew Alex’s murky choice of career would complicate things. Later, they’d figured. They’d adopt later, giving a child a loving home, and their first child a sibling - much like how Alex had gained a sister in Kara. Yet things rarely worked out as planned, especially for them. ‘You...pregnant?’ Alex didn’t want to get her hopes up with their luck but this was a sign...right?  _ Maybe… _

‘I’m late,’ Maggie said, though they had learned that wasn’t necessarily a sign of anything. ‘And this? I don’t know, maybe?’

‘Okay,’ Alex nodded. ‘Okay.’  _ Maybe _ . ‘Shit, do truck stops sell pregnancy tests?’

‘I’m not pissing on a pregnancy test in a truck stop.’ It was a defiant statement, so much so that Alex had to suppress a laugh at it.

‘Well, I’ll still see if I can buy one. And we’ll take it when we get to Midvale. How does that sound?’

A smile. ‘Good, I...fuck...please be it. Please.’

Alex pressed her lips against her wife’s sweaty temple. She didn’t know what to say, all she could do was hope that, finally, this was it.

~ ~ ~

That particular truck stop did not sell any testers but Alex grabbed some _ Doritos  _ and they headed back out on the road, rerouting so they could stop off at a store that would prove fruitful.

Leaving Maggie in the car, she entered and bought two of the most expensive brand. She wanted to be sure, she didn’t want another moment of false hope.

Fortunately, Maggie’s nausea eased for the remainder of the drive. In fact, it was Alex that was starting to feel a little on the sick side, her mind running faster than their car as she thought about how things might be about to change in the most amazing way. - or not, and it would be tears for another reason entirely.

Again.

A lot of tears had fallen as frustrations had risen, and Maggie had started to see herself as a failure. That hurt Alex the most, knowing that her wife was thinking that because she was far from a failure. She was, without a doubt, the most incredible woman Alex had ever met. A selfless woman, who had volunteered to put her body through this journey for them, their family. And what happened on this journey did not make her a failure - no, it only made Alex love her more, something that she hadn’t thought was even possible.

In those dark months after they’d called off their engagement all those years ago, Alex knew she’d made a mistake. A life that had been so full had suddenly become a void, a black hole of absolutely nothing but pity and despair. She threw herself headfirst into work; she looked after Ruby to distract herself and not feel so lonely; and she recklessly thought she was ready to adopt a child even though she could barely look after herself.

At times, she thought she’d never pull herself out of that abyss.

Fate had, thankfully, proved her wrong and now, some eight years later, she was sat on her childhood bed waiting for the two minutes to pass. 

Eliza was downstairs, thinking they were unpacking for the weekend they were spending here.  _ Little did she know.  _ Hell, Eliza didn’t know they were even trying.

‘How much longer?’ Maggie’s foot bounced.

‘Ten seconds.’ 

‘Fuck.’

Alex placed her hand on top of Maggie’s. ‘Whatever it says, it doesn’t change things.’

‘Babe, I think it could change everything.’ Maggie sighed. ‘Because if we’re not--.’

‘It won’t change how much I love you.’ She squeezed that hand. ‘You are amazing, okay? I’ll always be grateful that you’ve done this for us. I love you so, so much.’

Maggie rested her head on Alex’s shoulder. ‘We should probably check now. Can...you?’

So Alex did the honors, her heart sinking at the single line. ‘No.’

They headed down to join Eliza. Alex knew neither of their brave faces were entirely convincing but, bless her, her mom didn’t say anything about their off-kilter behaviour. 

That was, however, until Maggie fell asleep on the couch that evening. ‘She’s feeling under the weather, isn’t she?’

A nod. ‘It was a rough drive.’

‘There’s some blankets upstairs if you want to grab one for her,’

‘Thanks, I’ll do that.’ Heading back upstairs, Alex made a quick detour to her bedroom to grab the book she’d left in her rucksack. As she did, the tester they’d wrapped up and hid in there fell out. Her heart sank at the sight of it, the reminder...before it skipped a beat as she picked it up.

A second line.

Faint but it was there.

‘Oh.’

Staring at it for the longest time, Alex made sure that it was real, and that it wasn’t a figment of her imagination. It turned out it was real, it was there and she was going to need to wake up her wife to take that second one.

She knew Maggie wouldn’t mind her sleep being interrupted for such a reason, she just needed to figure out how to do it without raising any suspicion from her mother.

_ Mother _ .

If that other test produced the same result then that was what she was about to become. 

Finally.

~ ~ ~

It was confirmed thirty minutes later.

It wasn’t car sickness wreaking havoc on Maggie’s body; it was a little human.

It was their dream coming true.

Squeezed together in Alex’s childhood twin bed, they thought about the future. What would their lives look like? What would their child look like? What colour would they paint the nursery? They had no answers to any of those questions right now but were excited to get them later.

There was also one very specific question that Maggie had.

‘Babe?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Is, uh...is car sickness genetic?’

**Author's Note:**

> lemme know what y'all think!!


End file.
